Director: Leigh Whannell
Cast: Lin Shayne, Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott and Angus Sampson.
Synopsis: Set before the Lambert family haunting, when psychic Elise Rainer (Lin Shayne) reluctantly consents to hold a séance in order to help a teenage girl, Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott), who had been targeted by a malevolent demonic entity… SPOOKY!
What’s good?
1. Some jumpy scares
*Don’t look under the bed*- there’s a reason why people in horror movies say this. Why? To avoid the evil entity below and most importantly to avoid clichés! The good thing about INSIDIOUS 3 is that it does not entirely fall prey to these cants. For instance, there is a scene where Quinn does look below her bed, but finds nothing there. A second later, a hand lifts her and plunges her down. In fact, there were quite a few other scenes which made me jump and therefore, sufficiently creepy. Well thank goodness for that!
2. The spine-chilling musical score
After successful ventures in THE CONJURING and of course, the first two INSIDIOUS instalments, composer Joseph Bishara does not disappoint us with this one! If (somehow) the jumpy scenes do not grab your attention, I can guarantee that that the eerie score will. It gives you Goosebumps.
3. LOL- the complimentary humour
In the first instalment of INSIDIOUS there were a few humorous gags, to provide a slight diversion from the rest of the scare fest. Luckily there are a few comic stints in this one too. For instance in a fight between Elise and the entity, it tells her ‘this is how you die’. In response to this, Elise says, ‘Not today bitch’. This was one of my favourite scenes in the film and makes you applause her bravery. YOU GO GIRL!
What’s bad? Although there were some decent jumpy scenes, they may seem slightly pale in comparison to the first two instalments (Basically a seen that done, done that situation!) Also, the storyline could have been more convincing. For instance, Elise was initially very apprehensive in helping Quinn. It seemed very quick that she agreed to help her just after a conversation with her friend Carl. I wish there was a more conclusive reason for her to agree.
On the whole, INSIDIOUS 3 is an entertaining venture. Considering that it is Leigh Whannell’s debut as a director (after taking over James Wan from the first two INSIDIOUS movies), this one offers some genuine scares and creates a sinister ambience. It may not be the best horror film ever, but it certainly is not the worst either!
